Delicious Imperfection

Monday, May 24, 2010

The great thing about pastas and sauces is, it's not a precise science. You can add a dash of this and a little of that, or omit an ingredient entirely to personalize to your tastes. This dish is inspired by a personal love of the flavors of South-East Asia, and a fondness for making my own pasta. Something about the craft really appeals to the child in me. :) Without further ado, I give you the recipe.

Lay corresponding sheet over top of the sheet with filling on it so that egg-washed sides meet, careful to press out air bubbles that may be trapped between sheets.

Cook in pot of boiling and salted water until al dente.

Serve, Eat, Enjoy!

** I boil my own chicken for the filling. To do so, I boiled water with salt, basil, and garlic powder, and added chicken breast. Once cooked through, I put the cooked chicken in a food processor. Be careful not to make a puree... unless that's your thing.

The sauce is super easy, and if you'd rather use wonton wrappers found in your local grocery store or Asian market instead of making your own dough, that would work as well.

Add potatoes and water to cover all ingredients. 1 qt should be enough, but you may add more water if desired.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, covered, until potatoes are soft and the broth in the bot has a flavor that you like.

Turn heat off. Use a hand blender to carefully puree the soup to desired consistency. I like it nice and smooth, but some like it chunky. It's personal preference. Serve hot and garnish, if desired, with some lightly fried leek.

* In a large pan on med. high heat, heat galangal and garlic.* Turn down heat* Add oil, zest, lemongrass, sriracha, mirin, fish sauce, golden mountain sauce, pepper flakes, coriander, and ginger. Heat until emulsified.* Stir in onion and eggplant, and heat until golden.* Add coconut, lime juice, basil and half & half. ** you may want to add some of the sauce to the half & half before pouring it all into the pan to prevent curdling *** Simmer, covered, on medium low until broth is creamy in consistency

Soften the butter and mix with 2 cloves garlic, a pinch of that lemon zest, some pepper and a dash of tarragon. Mix up and place into something that can be frozen. Once it's solid again, split into 2 "patties".

Loosen the skin from the breast of the chicken, and put one 'patty' under the skin of each breast section so that it rests between the meat and the skin.

Shove one half onion (quartered), one lemon (cut into 2 halves), and one half clementine into the cavity of the chicken with a sprinkling of salt.

Pat the chicken dry, if you haven't already, and rub the chicken with the rest of the zest, half of the remaining garlic, then sprinkle liberally with salt, ground black pepper, and other herbs as you like. (I chose approx. 1/2 tsp lemon pepper, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/2 tsp tarragon, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. I sprinkled a little olive oil on it too, but it's not necessary. Place the chicken on a rack in a pan with 1/2 C water at the bottom. Place chicken in overn for 20-30 minutes. You're just trying to brown the skin and seal in the juices, so try not to let it burn in there.

In the meantime, put the carrots, cut however you like them, the rest of the onion (cut into large chunks) the rest of the citrus, the OJ, sherry, a dash of salt, the remaining garlic, the potatoes and oil in the slow cooker. Turn it on and set to the time that fits your schedule. I started at 6 hours while the chicken was in the oven, but quickly realized I didn't have much time so i pumped it up to 4hrs on the high setting once the chicken had done its time in the oven and I put it in the slow cooker to finish up.

Served with Citrus/Parsley rice, sauteed veggies, and the slow cooker potatoes and veggies from the pot. I also used the pot drippings to make a basic gravy.

The chicken was so tender it was falling off the bone as soon as I took it out of the crock pot.Cooper couldn't wait to try it!

Monday, August 24, 2009

I suppose this is the first post; the maiden voyage, as they say. Please do not be confused by the posts to come that reference the past. I intended to start this blog for quite some time but lacked the impetus or time to see it through. I know have a bit of both and say hello to the world of bloggers, epicures, net-aholics, and random searchers. Welcome to the world of delicious imperfection - where food is delicious but not necessarily precise. I have found, over the years, that I create my best recipes by happenstance. I rarely follow a recipe word for word. And with so many recipes out there for the same thing, I often choose to go with my gut. Somehow my gut, hands and mind come up with wonderful recipes, alternatives and solutions. So I'm sticking with that. I'm sticking with delicious imperfection.

Join the adventure. Offer suggestions, comments, photos, events, recommendations...whathaveyou. And try some of the recipes. I will tell you this, and remind you often, that I don't follow recipes and often forget to measure exactly how much of something I put in a dish. So follow loosely, make your own changes, and don't expect perfection. Do, however, expect to enjoy yourself and your food. That's what's most important after all.